


soft summer night

by estir



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Holding Hands is Kinda Gay, Hopeless pining, Multi, Softball, except not really hopeless adjknfvb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 12:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12320913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estir/pseuds/estir
Summary: Ryouga takes his usual spot on the bleachers behind home plate, easily filling the space between his sister and his boyfriend. Rio thanks him politely for the bottled water, but her attention strays to the symbols and numbers penciled in the playbook in her lap. It's the bottom of the 3rd inning, he reads quickly, and he startles when Yuuma jumps to his feet."Come on Kotori! Hit it outta the park!" he shouts as she walks on deck, like he always does. And like always, her bright amber eyes alight on their little trio. She giggles a little wave, like always, before schooling her slight blush and taking a batter's stance.And like always, Ryouga's chest does a funny little stutter. [ygotplusweek day 1: falling in love]





	soft summer night

**Author's Note:**

> *holds my head in my hands while sobbing* I just love kotoryoyuu so much...

The sun beats relentlessly upon the pitch even this late in the summer. The bleachers gleam despite their dirt and grime, and the brightness burns every inch of the park it touches. The rustling breeze carries along the sweet promise of a cooler night ahead. Tree branches applaud their plentiful green leaves softly against a cloudless, deeper blue sky. The crickets and cicadas are a murmur in the distant forest preserve, barely discernible against sudden cheers, screaming children, and the distinctive ring of a well-swung aluminum bat.

Ryouga idly flips the cool water bottle in the air as he walks toward Field 2. Lithe fingers catch it at the neck, twirling it back behind him in line with its downward momentum. He thumbs at the cap gently, just barely resisting the urge to open it and pour some of the water on his hairline, where the cotton band of his baseball cap presses uncomfortably into his skin.

He sighs and presses toward the familiar row of bleachers, familiar crowd of faces. He’s been here every Thursday night for the last few months, it seems. The nods and waves he receives are well-practiced. The small smiles he returns. The atmosphere is domestic and familial, and while he’ll never admit to Yuuma that he enjoys it, he has yet to turn down an invitation to come.

Having a  _ home team _ is nice, in its own little ways.

Ryouga takes his usual spot on the bleachers behind home plate, easily filling the space between his sister and his boyfriend. Rio thanks him politely for the bottled water, but her attention strays to the symbols and numbers penciled in the playbook in her lap. It's the bottom of the 3rd inning, he reads quickly, and he startles when Yuuma jumps to his feet.

"Come on Kotori! Hit it outta the park!" he shouts as she walks on deck, like he always does. And like always, her bright amber eyes alight on their little trio. She giggles a little wave, like always, before schooling her slight blush and taking a batter's stance.

And like always, Ryouga's chest does a funny little stutter.

Yumma’s hand finds his when they settle back together, shoulder to shoulder and arm to arm. He can’t help the small chuckle that latches onto his next breath when Yuuma sighs dramatically, as if falling against Ryouga’s side is the only action that has given him true peace. Yuuma nudges him with a deep chuckle of his own, their own private little joke of sorts, before he leans against Ryouga’s ear and steals a chaste kiss against the stud earring.

Five years’ experience lessens Ryouga’s blush at the familiar touch, but it doesn’t rid it from his sun-soaked face completely.

He hears Rio sigh in exasperation before he hears the umpire’s strikeout call. Yuuma is calling out his disappointment at the call while Ryouga takes a quick glance at Rio’s harsh re-strokes against a large capital K.

“You’ll get ‘em next time!” Yuuma shouts with a wave of his free hand, pulling Ryouga into the motions as they swayed Yuuma back and forth. Ryouga catches the smallest glimpse of Kotori’s smirk before she tips the helmet over her head. Her short dark hair floats with the motion for a moment before falling back against the sweat-soaked skin at the back of her neck.

He’s reminded of before, when the wind toyed with his ponytail and Rio’s water slipped from his fingers, when he nearly pulled off the cap and turned the teasingly cool water over his head.

And he… he has no idea what this means.

“Is Coach putting her on the mound already?” Rio bemoans as their team takes to their defensive positions. He instinctively searches center field for Kotori, but blinks when one of the twins is out on the field instead.

Yuuma’s mood falters tangibly around them, “But it’s only the fourth, right? The top of the fourth. She’s  _ relief  _ for a  _ reason _ , that’s what she told me!”

Other murmurs join them amongst the crowd, but Ryouga tunes the chatter out easily. He finds Kotori on the pitcher’s mound, in the middle of the action, pulling her right arm over her head in a stretch. Her eyes are closed, her breathing steady, and Ryouga can’t help the counts that whisper across his thoughts like a distant dream.

They’re the breathing exercises that Yuuma taught her years ago, back when she had first started to throw a softball.

So he says, “it’ll be alright,” against their murmurs and concerns, neatly silencing them.

Yuuma fidgets a bit at his side but relents easily, turning back to watch the field from his new perch against Ryouga’s shoulder.

“We should get her ice cream after,” he whispers into Ryouga’s dark cotton sleeve.

Ryouga just hums, tracing circles against Yuuma’s thumb all the while.


End file.
